Some accused the university of censorship - something its vice chancellor Patrick Johnston denied.

A risk assessment was ordered by Queen’s and today the university confirmed the event will now take place.

In a statement, Queen’s said: “Following the completion of a comprehensive risk assessment, undertaken in line with approved protocols, the university is pleased to confirm that the Charlie Hebdo Research Symposium, organised by the Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities has been approved.”

Twelve people were killed when brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi opened fire at the Paris magazine’s offices in January.

Five others died in the city in related attacks over the following two days.

“The original decision by the university to cancel the event generated significant public outcry, because people care passionately about this issue.

“We know that freedom of expression is under attack, whether that is gunmen shooting cartoonists in Paris, the Saudi government locking up blogger Raif Badawi, or Russia’s crackdown on civil society.

“Freedom of expression, including academic freedom, must be defended robustly wherever it is threatened. At the same time, we must also ensure that the right is not abused, for instance, to incite hatred or violence against a minority group.

“Amnesty’s event is open to anyone who cares about freedom of expression and the debate on where to set limits on the exercise of the right.”

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt described it as a "common sense move".

He added: “It is important that an organisation which enjoys such international renown as Queen’s should be seen to stand up for the promotion of freedom of speech, a key component of any democracy.

“I also welcome the fact that Queen’s has shown the corporate courage to tackle sensitive and controversial and potentially divisive issues.

“I congratulate the vice-chancellor Patrick Johnston. I sense this was an internal hiccup and the vice-chancellor moved as quickly as possible to restore the good name of both Queen’s and Northern Ireland to the wider world.”